Pa. congressmen want expanded requirements for public housing funds

Sixteen members of the Pennsylvania Congressional delegation sent a letter to Shaun Donovan, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) urging him to reconsider selection criteria for the $1 billion in Public Housing Capital Funds included in the Economic Stimulus, also known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

Based on current HUD requirements, only 35 of the 82 public housing authorities in Pennsylvania will be eligible to compete for the $1 billion available in the initial round of funding. The selection criteria was made public in a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) on May 7, 2009.

"We ask that your Department consider amending the NOFA to better ensure that Pennsylvania's public housing authorities have maximum opportunity to compete for these needed funds," the members wrote. "We are deeply concerned that many of the neediest Pennsylvanians will be denied housing, services, and jobs as a result of the NOFA guidance."

The letter suggests several changes HUD could make to ensure that housing authorities in Pennsylvania can compete for funds on an equal footing with other agencies, including: waiving reporting requirements so that successful "Moving to Work" programs are eligible, opening the competition to communities where concentrations of poverty exceed 20%, and waiving the "high performer" status as a requirement for funding.

"As we are sure you know, Pennsylvania was hard hit by the recent economic downturn. Now more than ever, Pennsylvanians need equal access to the ARRA capital funds to ensure a ready supply of quality affordable housing and the jobs created by use of those funds," the Members concluded. "We can assure you that the public housing agencies in Pennsylvania stand ready to spend ARRA funds quickly and effectively to meet these goals."